While The Music Played
by Blkwidow77
Summary: One to another they fall like dominoes, in black and white, til there is not one that is left to stand. But how pretty the music is, that drowns them...


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I'm actually working on another story right now, but I felt like writing this one.

People had wanted the other one to be about Keiko but it didn't work out that way. Not that that many people bothered to review. I just happened to feel like writing this.

It is a one-shot. There's no way of making any more of this story, trust me. lol

I liked how it turned out. It came from a song I had been listening to. It's called "Ring's Theme" and it's a song off the music soundtrack cd for a top notch anime called "Angel Sanctuary".

So, I'm providing a link of where you can listen to it at. Click here:

media. Putfile. com/Rings-Theme-2

**I highly suggest listening to the song while reading this. It really brings the mood to the story and helps you understand what's going on a little more.**

Disclamer: I obviously don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or the story line, or the song for that matter. You must have mouse brains is you think I do.

Also, in case you're not good with visual cues, the sections that are itallized are the present tense. What is in regular font, is Yuusuke thinking back a few weeks or less.

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**"While the music played..."**

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(Yuusuke's Perspective)

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_I held her hand._

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_The other was slipped carefully around her waist, reminding me of how small she really is. We were dancing around the stone floored room that I had done a lousy job on having decorated. My dad's castle, his kingdom in the Makai._

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This was me trying to please Keiko when I brought her here for the first time to show off. I had had the bald headed monk guys, my old man had left to me, decorate the place. I figured they couldn't do any worse than me. It's not like dear old dad ever got himself a live in woman.

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_Gently the music drifted along, out the open windows that were never made to have glass. Air and noise drifts in, Keiko's and my music was floating out. Not that I thought anyone outside could hear a bit of it, with the deafening sound of the battle raging on, even into this late of night. This enormous battle that had gone on for three weeks straight..._

_There were three golden chandaliers that were hanging precariously from the tall ceiling of this room that I guess was for a big table and banquets I would never have had. The chandalier on the left side was still hanging crooked from it's chain and casting funny angled shadows against the far wall. I remember yelling at the guys to fix it but they never did. Staring down at Keiko, I swallow hard at the shining of her eyes, the way they follow me wherever I go, like she honestly thinks, that one day I may leave her-_

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I had brought Keiko here three weeks and two days ago. It was summer vacation for her and I hadn't seen her for almost a year. I had been excited and pumped up. Thought I'd show her around my new pad for a few days and then take her back home to her parents again. I was surprised that her parents even let her go for that long, but we told them we were only going camping for a few days. I never thought they'd trust me that much. But they did... and now I wish they hadn't.

Keiko and I had been sitting on the grass at some lake of my old man's land. The sun was too bright and the bugs were getting on my nerves but she loves the water and this was the best lake I could think of. I should know its name since it's mine now, too, but I just don't give a fk. That's what servants are for, right? Information and work. I can't be doing everything.

And right then I was working hard, laying on my back in the grass, my hands behind my head and Keiko was sitting next to me, doing whatever it is that Keiko does. We talk casual anyway, so it wasn't such a shock that neither of us were saying much then. It was a nice day.

Then one of my bald guys ruined it by zipping up. I knew he was there but didn't bother opening my eyes. Undaunted by my behavior, he knelt down and whispered something urgent into my ear...

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_I stepped back while holding her hand and waist tightly, to look down into her face, the white silhouette of her slender neck, the young rise of her breasts that rose and fell with her breathing. Watching me watching her for a still moment, she flushed but said nothing. I pulled her in and circled around and around with her, taking her light feet across the huge rug of gold, green and deep red. I had made sure it was big enough to cover the whole floor and protect her if she fell because this place was nothing but mortar and stone. No place for a girl like her. _

_As we continued to dance with what I hoped were steps light as air, I remember how surprised and happy Keiko had been when she saw the rug. Its design of a Makai forest florishing, rivers and ponds running through in some kind of peaceful harmony. Misleading, but still of some comfort~_

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At first I hadn't believed them. Not that my own guys lie to me. But you know, hearing that a bunch of upper class powerful mother fking demons are heading straight for me, from 15 layers of the Makai down... well, you know, what makes me so special?

Probably has something to do with my dad being dead and I'm a half breed taking over. Whatever. Like the real reason matters now. It wasn't even 24 hours after I had been informed, that I had Hiei and Kurama at my front door, not knocking, just coming right in on Keiko and me's breakfast of bird eggs and bread. I love the bird eggs but was complaining about there being no fking jam in this place and how she needs to bring me some next time. Keiko's tolerant laughter died away without warning, when the other two startled her, suddenly appearing.

I didn't even greet them that day. Just stood up, told Keiko I'd 'be right back', then sautered outside with my hands in my pockets like this was all no big thing at all...

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_Keiko smiled real gentle like, as I moved her around in some kind ballroom dance I couldn't remember the name of, to save my life. I know how shocked she had been to find out I could dance at all. I wasn't even stepping on her feet. What I hadn't told her was that I'd been learning how to for the last couple of months, because I wanted to somehow seem more mature and attactive. Girls liked that kind of thing and I was sure noticing how grown up she had been looking lately. I wasn't living in the human world anymore so I couldn't be too careful of my competition sweeping her off her feet. So I made sure I was the one doing the sweeping._

_I was trying very hard to be graceful as I turned her around and made all these steps in the order I was supposed to. It wasn't so hard, considering it was a lot like training for a battle or learning a new fighting technique. Everything's about learning the right steps. _

_But here I was, stepping with her, and with the way she was smiling at me, I was having a hard time concentrating. Something about her seemed to glow, radiate out and make my skin feel hot. She could be my sun, with the way I always was following her light. But now it was my turn. It was me leading her and I was nervous, anxious and I could feel the sinking of my stomach, at the knowledge that our time was quickly running out~_

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Kurama had layed it all out, as soon as we were out of earshot of Keiko. He didn't pull any punches. Just told me straight, that my land was basically surrounded by these super demons and all their bobble-headed minions. "_So what?_" I had told him. Hiei snorted and his lips twitched in what appeared to be his version of a wiry smile. "_I'll just take Keiko home and then come back and kick their a*s!_"I said, making it all sound very neat and tidy. Like taking out the trash, you get it?

I grinned thinking it was a great answer but Kurama had stolen Hiei's glare and was using that glare against me. He was in his silver-haired Yoko form, and his tail swished back and forth with uncharacteristic impatience for my attitude. He really had changed. "_Yuusuke, they'll be no sending her home_." he retorted evenly, watching my reaction. I cocked an eyebrow at him, not understanding what he was getting at. Not that I could usually keep up with his cyclone mind and all the things he's thinking about. He's smart as fox, and that's just what he was anyway.

"_You're surrounded Yuusuke. They are all at the edge of your land and more are coming. There's no way you could get past them to get her across to the human's world now. And we can't get ahold of Botan from your castle_" he said, just as calmly as if he were talking about the weather. Only his tail moved, flicking hard.

I balked. "_Well, get ahold of Botan at your place then!_"I snapped. Getting kind of irritated at having to state the obvious. "_Detective. __**We**_ _can't leave anymore either_." Hiei said, leaning against the wall, not even bothering to make eye contact.

If he couldn't take this seriously, how could I? ...

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_Keiko was starting to get tired. We have been dancing for hours back and forth across the large room we have all to ourselves, the music on repeat all through the night. As I spin her around again, I feel her body growing heavier in my arms. I dip her back, trying to be cool and romantic at the same time, only to knock into one of the gilded cherry wood tables along the wall. "Sorry..." I mumble, but her eyes are growing so heavy, that it seems she barely notices. _

_There must be ten small accent tables all around the room, just like this one I knocked into. Each one really old, carved with wild animal scenes on the curved legs. And just like I asked, on each table there was a blue vase because blue is her favorite color. And yellow roses stuffed full inside them, because yellow roses are the flowers she's always buying for herself. She thinks I never pay attention to that stuff. I didn't when I was younger but it's not like that anymore. _

_The whole air in here had been smelling like her roses. It had bothered me before, kind of stuffy, but now I'm wishing it was stronger, as the scent of blood and death has started to come creeping in from outside. The clanking of steel and scrapping, starting to be heard through the music that continues to play uneffected by the threat of the choas outside~_

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We had all fought really hard. Really honorable. Especially that first week when we were still fresh and rested. The second week wasn't too bad either, but you could tell we were slowing down.

Kurama and Hiei had brought some of their own fighters and servants to help with this situation and I had a lot of guys too.

I flat out lied to Keiko about what was going on.

Told her I had to go negotiate with a nasty demon lord and, not telling her anything else, I would then leave her for a few days at a time, in the hands of an ancient servant that had no teeth so he couldn't try to eat her, if I wasn't there or something.

I could tell she didn't buy it. And there were a couple times over the weeks where she asked to go home, but I just made excuses that I couldn't take her right now with all the stupid talking with stubborn demons taking up so much time. I figured I'd finish the fight, clean up the mess and she would never know a thing about it. No sense in scaring her, right?

But I couldn't take her to the lakes or even outside safely anymore. She had to notice the change. We stayed inside all the time and talked or wrestled on my old man's bed. Sometimes we played cards to pass the time, or just lay quietly together, while the old servent brought food from a dwindling food supply, for us to eat.

And since the morning that Kurama and Hiei first came, there were no more bird eggs to be found for breakfast, either.

All the birds have gone...

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_I kept dancing with her, but now we were moving slowly back and forth. Her arms were wrapped around my midsection, as she lay with her head deep against my chest. I wondered if she was asleep or if she was actually exhausted. Regreting it, I made myself ask her if she wanted to stop so she could rest. I held my breath waiting for that answer, hoping she would tell me no but she didn't. "I am a little tired. I just want to sit down for a little while. We've been dancing forever" she said, smiling all along. _

_'Forever?' I thought. I wish that were true. _

_I didn't let her sit down though. Instead, when she turned away from me, I panicked, stooped down and scooped her up in my arms. She had become so light, I hardly felt her. She stiffened with surprise for just a moment but then laughed and swept her arms around my neck, resting her head sideways on my shoulder. She picked her head up just long enough to whisper "Oh Yuusuke, I didn't want to stop dancing either..."_

_And we didn't._

_Holding her in my arms, I still followed the dance steps that would carry her and I across the floor, and past the large gold mirrors that hung everywhere, just like I had asked for, so I could always see her no matter which way I was turned~_

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It was some kind of sick joke. Some kind of nightmare. No matter how many we killed, no matter how many Kurama's plants ate or Hiei's sword bit into... they just kept coming. By the hundreds, by the thousands we killed them. Day after day. Between fighting the war, and running back to Keiko to pretend nothing was wrong, I never got rest or sleep. Neither did Kurama or Hiei. There just wasn't any time.

The landscape began to look like a bad Picasso painting. The smudged lines of dead bodies that piled one top of the other til they become faceless mountains. The ground soaked like the surface of Mars, all in red.

And all the while, we all knew that this was not the worst to come. The big guys, the lords of those places that were sending all these demons, hadn't even shown up yet. Not one of us said a damn thing but we were all wondering where we supposed to get the strength to fight them when they finally did come?

Now looking back, I know, it wasn't ever going to matter anyway.

I remember thinking I was glad that Kuwabara wasn't trapped here too. It was bad that I hadn't figured out how to get Keiko home but at least I can keep her safe inside the castle. While his stupid a*s would have never left the fight. Yeah, he's got a future. He told me he's going to college now and I'm glad I wasn't going to ruin that for him too...

Hiei was the first to fall.

There was nothing that Kurama or I could have done, not that we didn't blame ourselves anyway. Hiei always has to be the strongest, the fastest, the one out in front. And that ego of his was probably what got him in the end. There's no reasoning with that guy and Kurama and me hadn't thought much about it with our own hands being full and all, as it was.

But then it came, an unnatural howl. The sounds of cheering demons at their success. I snapped my head in that direction, wiping blood from my eye and saw hundreds of them, hands filled with sharp weapons circled around and stabbing inward toward the center, over and over again. You couldn't see Hiei at all, he's so small. I kept waiting for him to jump up from the middle, laugh manically and start killing all over again,

_but he never did._

And by the time Kurama and I killed our way frantically through to his body, it was nothing but black clothe, tufts of midnight hair, pulp and blood. And all I could think of, was 'why is his jagan closed?'...

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_As I danced slowly along the edge of the large area rug, I was almost for sure that Keiko had fallen asleep by now. The music played on, on the old cd player that had been the hardest thing to come by in this world. It's speakers weren't loud enough for me, but she had never minded. And now her eyes were closed against the sounds of the song playing. Her eyelashes dusting her cheeks. She never looked more child-like, never looked more like an angel. _

_Angels and heaven, the afterlife..._

_I shook my head, leaning down to kiss her forehead and clear the direction of my own morid thoughts. She stirred and her eyes barely opened to look at me, before drifting closed again. I hoped she was sleeping hard enough not to hear the sounds of death, shouting and war that had begun to over take the music. But with the sounds, came back the thoughts of my closest friends. It had been four days ago when Hiei had died. From exhaustion, as much as those demons. Kurama had taken it the hardest and I think something inside of him went with Hiei. He just wasn't fighting as hard after that~_

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We had taken to fighting with our backs to each other, as a better defense. There were still our armies fighting too, but our numbers were dwindling as each hour passed.

Two days after Hiei, Kurama took the fall.

It should have been me, but he had let down his defenses to protect me from a fatal blow and instead, had recieved it himself. A hole the size of a baseball, taken out of his stomach. There was nothing that could be down with him but to watch him die in my arms, and I cursed Botan all to hell for not being here to do a damn thing to help.

But Kurama? He smiled his smile, as though he felt no pain and his eyes never looked so old before. He said, "_Now get back to Keiko. She's been waiting long enough for you. Find... someway... to get her away from here Yuusuke..." _His voice was rough, and drawn out. I shook my head, not intending to leave him. "_You've been a great friend to me Yuusuke. I'll... never forget. Bu...but listen... I can only buy you one chance. You've got to think of... her. Make it back. I'll see you again some... other day with Hiei. We'll wait for you. Pl... please go_" he rasped, his voice drifting in and out, with the slowing pulse of his blood leaving his body.

My eyes were glossing over but I didn't know what to say, nothing I could say. I held his hand, while his other one pulled a single small seed from the depths of silver hair caked with blood, and he tossed it besides me. "_Go_." he said quietly, and a second later the plant grew to life, spiking everything in its path and giving me somewhere to run.

I turned and left my friend, with a heart to heavy to carry, hearing him whisper "_goodbye..._"from somewhere behind me, but I could not bring myself to look back or make it real by saying the word...

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_She's so light, it's almost like she isn't really here. I just keep rocking her in my arms to the gentle tune playing, hoping that by some miracle the music will never stop and we really will be able to dance forever, just like she said..._

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I had reached my castle more or less in tact, thanks to Kurama. Keiko hadn't asked any questions but it's probably because she didn't want to know. The thick repressing feel of dread hung in the air, and made it hard to feel sane. I knew there was no way of getting her out of here. So I just kept up the ruse that nothing was wrong.

Instead, I had taken on a false face like everything was just wonderful. I joked around that we should take a bath together, just so she could slap me for old times sake. Instead, she got a funny look on her face and said "_ok..."_

I had nearly died of shock at that moment but I caught myself and played it cool. But in the end, like everything else going on, it wound up being a solemn affair. We filled up the tub with water from the buckets at a well pump by the bath in my room. The water was unheated and chilly, so we slipped carefully in together, letting the water wash over our bodies softly. She was shy, bashful and pink all over. I probably looked the same. It grew affectionate between us, and we scrubbed each other all over with sponges; our arms, our shoulders, our backs. She even washed away the dirt and blood from my face, the spaces between my toes. I'd never felt so close to anyone before.

After that, I helped her slip back into her clothes, buttoning each button with as much care as I would a baby. We should have sat down to eat then, but there wasn't any food left by this time. So we headed, hand in hand, into the main room to dance, like I had promised her I would two weeks ago...

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_I continued to rock her gently. I had stopped dancing but I don't think she's noticed. I had sent the old servant out to find her some food a long time ago but I know he won't be coming back. _

_Her lips move like she's talking in her sleep and I ache to kiss them. Seeing her like this, reminds me of how I wanted the chance to marry her. Maybe even have a few kids of our own someday. I kept thinking we had more time, more years to get all this stuff done. I had never really worried about it. Now, I can't remember what sounded so good about a being a demon king like my old man. What has it gotten me? _

_The fighting outside had gotten a lot louder. I could hear them starting to break down the heavy doors that keep this place safe. Keiko stirred again, woken by the noise, even though the music continued to play. "_Oh Yuusuke, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep_." Keiko said, while yawning and trying to wake herself back up. _

_There was no where to hide her. Even if I tried, they would smell where ever she was at. It would be only a matter of time. And I figured it would probably be even more scary for her if I hid her somewhere and died, leaving her the last one and all alone. It was best this way, I figured._

_The music player didn't care though. The song lost in itself, playing each note perfect and haunting, just like Keiko. _

_A loud snap of wood breaking, resonated off the walls and Keiko gasped and tried to turn in my arms to look in that direction. _

_But I called her eyes back. "_Keiko_" I whispered. "_Yuusuke_?" Keiko said in a small frightened voice, turning back to look at me with impossibly large moist eyes._

_I just smiled at her softly. I couldn't help but smile at her beautiful caring face. She continued to look at me, waiting for something, anything reassuring. And so I gave her the only thing I had left,_

_"_Hey Keiko? You know I love you, right_?"_

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So yeah, here's my hand at a one-shot. It's longer than I meant it to be, but I'm used to writing large stories.

Did I manage to make you cry, or did it fall flat.

You're welcome to offer constructive critcism or tell me what you do or do not like. Doesn't matter to me.

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